Flexible auger socket



United States Patent O FLEXIBLE AUGER SOCKET Ernst F. Muller, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Ohio Application November 9, 1951, Serial No. 255,691

6 Claims. (Cl. 255-46) This invention relates to a flexible auger driving socket, holder or receiver assembly, and an object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus of this type in which there is a driven member driving an auger carrier member, the members being so connected that they normally rotate on one axis and so that the auger carrier member may, when carrying an auger which is placed under bending strain, shift with respect to the driving member to rotate on an axis diiferent from that upon which the driving member is rotating thereby to relieve the auger of bending strain.

In carrying out the foregoing object it is another and more specific object of the invention to provide mechanism in the form of a universal joint, preferably but not necessarily of the constant velocity type, for drivingly interconnecting the driven member and the auger carrier and to provide mechanism, preferably but not necessarily of a spring pressed cam type, for normally maintaining the rotary axis of the driving member and rotary axis of the auger carrier coincident.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side view in elevation of a drilling machine including a flexible auger socket incorporating the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in section, the section being taken longitudinally through the auger socket seen attached to the drilling machine shown in Fig. l and through a portion of the drill thereof, the view also being taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 3 is a view in section, the section being taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Referring trst to Fig. l of the drawings, the drilling machine illustrated includes a main frame supported upon front power driven traction wheels 11 and rear steerable wheels 12. A head 13 extends forwardly from the main frame 10 and is rigidly attached thereto. A yoke 14 is attached to the head 13 for swinging movement upon an upright axis and this yoke 14 may be swung through a full 180, or 90 to each side of its longitudinal forward position by means of reversible gearing including a reversible rotary hydraulic motor 15. The gearing may include a conventional worm and worm gear.

An intermediate frame 16 extends forward from the yoke 14 and is pivotally attached thereto on a horizontal axis by a pivot means 17. Swinging adjustment of the intermediate frame 16 about the horizontal axis of the pivot 17 is provided by a pair of hydraulic motors, cylinders or jacks 18, one at each side of the intermediate frame 16. The rear end of each of these motors is pivoted to the yoke 14, and the front of the piston rod of each mo'tor is pivoted to the intermediate frame 16 near its front and bottom.

A `neck 19 extends forwardly from the front of the intermediate frame 16 and is rotatable about its longitudinal axis by appropriate drive gearing carried on the Patented Sept. 20, 1955 iCC intermediate frame 16 and including a rotary hydraulic motor 20. At the outer end of the neck 19 there is a bracket 21 which is adjustable about an axis which lies at right angles to the axis of the neck 19, this adjustment being effected by a drive mechanism, such as a worm and worm wheel drive, driven by a reversible rotary hydraulic motor all of which is indicated generally at 22.

A drill mechanism 23 is carried on top of the bracket 21. It will be seen that the drill mechanism 23 and the boorn which it is supported, which boom is formed principally by the yoke 14, intermediate frame 16 and neck 19, may be adjusted to a variety of positions including the positions in which said boom extends substantially at right angles on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the main frame 10. The drill 23 may also be raised and lowered and thus it may be positioned at any position over a wide face of a mine room.

The drill apparatus 23 carries a flexible auger socket 24 which embodies the features of the invention and this auger socket 24 carries an auger, drill bit, rotary cutter or boring tool 25, the particular tool shown being adapted to bore shot or blast holes in a coal face into which explosives may be packed and shot to dislodge the coal at the face.

It may be mentioned that in conventional drilling apparatus not employing a exible auger socket that breakage of the auger or drill bits is quite prevalent because while the auger or drill bit is being driven to form a shot or blast hole the truck may tend to wallow on the mine room floor, its tires may tend to sink in accumulated slack on the mine iloor or the wheels may even sink into a soft mine oor and any of these actions of the truck, because the auger or drill bit is held by the opening or hole which it is boring, may place the auger or drill bit in bending strain and thereby snap, break or fatigue the outer or front portion off of the auger or drill bit. It will, of course, be seen that any motion of the drill apparatus 23 other than along or rotationally about the axis of the auger or drill bit 25 will place the auger or drill bit 25 in bending strain which may break or deform the auger or drill bit as well as place harmful strains upon the bearings of the drill apparatus'23.

The flexible auger or drill bit socket of this invention is adapted, under conditions such as above set forth, to permit the auger or drill bit 25 to rotate on an axis that is not coincident with the rotary axis of the drill apparatus 23 thereby to relieve the auger or drill bit 25 from bending strains of suicient magnitude to cause it to break and also to prevent harmful strains from being applied to the drill apparatus 23.

The drill apparatus 23 per se forms no part of this invention and because it is described in complete detail and claimed in a copending application Serial No. 184,017, led September 9, 1950, now Patent No. 2,610,029, dated September 9, 1952, to Sterling C. Moon for a Drill Feed Mechanism with Reciprocating Non- Rotating Feed Cylinder, only a fragment of it is shown and described here.

Referring now to Fig. 2 of the drawings, the front portion of the drill apparatus 23, which is shown in section, includes a forward cylinder or housing member 26 within which there is a rotary drive cylinder 27. Drive cylinder 27 is driven through appropriate gearing, not shown, by a reversible rotary hydraulicrmotor 28 (see Fig. l) and cylinder 27 drives a rotating tube 29 through a pair of keys 30 which are secured to and extend through slots in the cylinder 27. The functiony of the keys 30 is to provide a driving connection between the driven cylinder 27 and the rotating tube 29 which tube is not only rotatable but is mounted for reciprocation within the housing provided in part by the member 26. The rotating tube 29 extends through a centralopening 3 in a head 31 provided .on the right hand end of the housing tube or member 26.

To provide for rectilinear longitudinal reciprocation of the auger tube 29 while it is driven as above described the external surface thereof is provided with a. pair of diametrically opposite longitudinal keyways 32 adapted to receive the keys and there is provided a double acting hydraulic cylinder type motor including a cylinder 33 and a piston rod 34 which projects through a head assembly 35 provided with a suitable stufiing box and which is rigidly attached to the end of the cylinder 33. Piston rod 34 does not rotate with the tube 29 and therefor its end is connected thereto by an antifriction bearing 36- secured in the end of the tube 29 by a cap or face plate 37 fastened to the tube by a plurality of cap screws 38.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the tube 29 while it is being rotated by the hydraulic motor 28 may also be reciprocated rectilinearly along its axis of rotation by the piston motor which includes the cylinder 33 and piston rod 34 and these motions of it are employed to drive an auger or drill bit to form a shot or blast hole in a coal face.

The cap, face plate or disc 37 may be considered a part of the flexible auger or drill bit socket or mounting structure 24 now to be described. Abutting the cap, face plate or disc 37 there is a constant velocity universal joint 39. This universal joint is described in United States Patent No. 2,323,569 dated July 6, 1943, to Alfred H. Rzeppa and it includes an outer body 40 having a spherical interior surface provided with six arcuate grooves 41 each adapted toreceive a ball 42. Within the outer body 40 there is a hub 43 having a spherical outer surface and a splined inner axial opening adapted to receive a splined shaft to be hereinafter described. The spherical outer surface of the hub 43 is also provided with six arcuate grooves 44 positioned to align with the grooves 41 in the outer body 40 and to receive the balls 42. A ring or shell 45 between the outer body 40 and the hub 43 receives the balls 42 and positions them properly in the cooperating grooves 41 and 44.

Abutting the right handside of the body 40, as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, there is a lubricant retainer for holding lubricant in the joint 39. This retainer includes a ring-like plate 46 that surrounds and has pressed into its central opening a thin metal collar or sleeve 47 which carries a exible seal member 48 attached to a central spacer tube 49. The ring-like plate 46 of the lubricant retainer isv clamped against the body 40 by an y end flange of a hollow cylindrical outer housing member 50 that `telescopes over the thin metal collar or sleeve 47 to abut the ring-like plate 46. At its front end the outer housing or cylindrical member 50 is provided with a flangey 51 that is adapted to carry a face ring 52 bolted thereto that provides a circular cam face 53 on the front open end of the member 50. The cap or face plate 37, body 40, platey 46, outer housing 50 and cam or face ring 52 may be considered as forming an outer housing assembly or unit and these pieces are secured together by a plurality of stud bolts 54 provided withy lock washers and lnuts which are also safety wired.

Within the generally hollow cylindrical outer housing assembly or unit provided by the elements 37, 40, 46, 50 and 52 there extends axially an auger bit carrier, receiver' or socket member that is adapted to receive and' drive theauger or drill bit 25 through radially inwardly projecting abutments or studs 55 attached to the socketv member 56 of the auger bit carrier. Studs 55 are designed to extend into depressions in the auger 25 tcrholdv the same in the socket 56. The socket member 56- is threaded on Vthey front of a splined stub shaft 57 that is received by the splined central opening in the hub portion 42 of the universal oint structure and the rear end of the stub shaft 57 is formed as a segment of a sphere and engages and cooperates with a socket 58 formed on the cap or face plate 37 to prevent movement of the auger bit carrier to the left as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings while permitting the auger bit carrier to rotate on an axis making an angle with the single normal axis of rotation of both the outer housing formed by the elements 37, 40, 46, 50 and 52 and the auger bit carrier formed by the elements 56, 57, etc. In Fig. 2 of the drawings the normal axis about which these elements rotate is indicated by the line 59 and a line 60 intersecting the axis 59 indicates the maximum position to which the axis of rotation of the auger bit carrier may be moved radially from the normal axis 59. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated the axisy 60 may form a maximum acute angle of 5 with the axis 59 but it is, of course, to be understood that this angle is not critical and may be varied as desired.

The outside diameter of the auger socket or tube 56 is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the shaft S7 to provide a shoulder that abuts one end of the lubricant retainer spacer sleeve 49 through which the stub shaft 57 extends and the other end of sleeve 49 abuts the hub 43 of the universal joint structure. Stub shaft 57 is provided with a circumferential groove that receives a key 61 that is secured by cap-screws to the hub 43. Key 61 retains the auger bit carrier against axial movement to the right as seen in the drawings.

The socket member 56 is tubular in crossfsection and is provided with a radially outwardly extending end iiange 62 against which a compression spring 63 that sur-- rounds the member 56 abuts. Member 56 also carries a sleeve 64 on its outer surface that may rotate and slide v axially along the member 56 and the front surface of which forms a cam 65 in the shape of a frustrum of a cone. The cam 65 seats in the open end of cam 53 on member 52 and is urged thereinto to maintain the rotaryA axis of the generally hollow cylindrical outer housing formed by the elements 37, 40, 46, 50 and 52 andthe auger bit socket or carrier formed by the elements 56 and 57 coincident under ordinary operating conditions of the apparatus by the spring 63 acting on the sleeve 64 through a thrust bearing 66. A guard sleeve in the form of a exible cover 67 or bellows is secured to the fla-nge 62 of the socket 56 and to the flange 51 of member 50. This cover is provided to prevent dirt, coal dust and the like from entering the centering mechanism including the cams 53 and 65, sleeve 64, etc., and another guard sleeve in the formv of a tubular cover member 68 mounted on the rear flange of the member 50' covers the entire forward portion of the flexible auger socket to prevent damage to it.

During normal operation of the exible auger socket above described, that is, when the auger bit is not placedA under bending strain', the axes of rotation of alll of the driven rotary members are coincident, but when for any reason the auger is placed under a bending strain its axis of rotation will depart from the normal axis' of' rotation of the entire housing assembly to relieve the strain upon the auger and thereby prevent its breaking or placing unwanted strains upon' the drill apparatus. The axis of rotation of theV auger may depart from the normal axis of rotation of the assemblyV whenever it is placedV under a bending strain suflcient to cause the cam surfaces 53 and 65 to compress spring 63 and when the bending strain upon the auger is relieved the spring 63 and cam surface 53 and 65 will. operate to center the auger carrier, that is, to cause its axis of rotation to become coincident with the normal axis of rotation of the housingv assembly.

Obviously those skilIed in the art may make various' changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims heretoV appended, and applicant therefore wishes not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed;

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of the invention, what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An auger socket mechanism adapted to connect an auger to a power driven drilling apparatus including in combination, means forming a constant velocity universal joint having an inner hub member and an outer body member adapted to be mounted on and rotated on an axis by said power driven drilling apparatus, means forming a housing carried by and extending from said outer body member for rotation on said axis, auger carrier and driving means within said housing means carried adjacent one of its ends in said inner hub member and rotated through the latter by said outer body member, cam means on said housing, a movable cam means on said auger carrier and driving means adapted to cooperate with said first named cam means, resilient means urging said second named cam means into engagement ,with said first cam means thereby causing said auger carrier and driving means normally to rotate on said axis of rotation of said housing and permitting said auger carrier and driving means to rotate on an axis intersecting said rst named axis when bending strain is placed upon an auger carried by said auger carrier and driving means, seal means interconnecting said housing means and said auger carrier and driving means for protecting the elements within said housing, and a guard sleeve surrounding said housing means and said seal means.

2. An auger socket mechanism adapted to connect an auger to a power driven drilling apparatus including in combination, means forming a universal joint having an inner hub member and an outer body member adapted to be mounted onand rotated on an axis by said power driven drilling apparatus, means forming a housing carried by and extending from said outer body member for rotation upon said axis, auger carrier and driving means within said housing means carried adjacent one of its ends in said inner hub member and rotated through the latter by said outer body member, cam means on said housing, a movable cam means on said auger carrier and driving means adapted to cooperate with said first named cam means, resilient means urging said second named cam means into engagement with said first cam means thereby normally causing said auger carrier and driving means to rotate on said axis of rotation of said housing and permitting said auger carrier and driving means to rotate on an axis intersecting said rst named axis when bending strain is placed upon an auger carried by said auger carrier and driving means, and means interconnecting said housing means and said auger carrier and driving means for protecting the elements within said housing.

3. An auger socket mechanism adapted to connect an auger to a power driven drilling apparatus including in combination, means forming a universal joint having an inner hub member, an outer body member adapted to be mounted on and rotated on an axis of said power driven drilling apparatus, and means interconnecting said driving and driven members whereby one is driven from the other, means forming a housing carried by-and extending from said outer body member for rotation upon said axis, auger carrier and driving means within said housing means carried adjacent one of its ends in said inner hub member and rotated through the latter by said outer body member, cam means on said housing, a movable cam means on said auger carrier and driving means adapted to cooperate with said first named cam means, and resilient means urging said second named cam means into engagement with said first cam means thereby causing said auger carrier and driving means normally to rotate on said axis of rotation of said housing and permitting said auger carrier and driving means to rotate on an axis intersecting said first named axis when bending strain is placed upon an auger carried by said auger carrier and driving means.

4. An auger socket mechanism adapted to connect an auger to a power driven drilling apparatus including in combination, means forming a universal joint having an inner hub member, an outer body member adapted to be mounted on and rotated on an axis by said power driven drilling apparatus, and means interconnecting said driving and driven members whereby one is driven from the other, means forming a housing carried by and extending from said outer body member for rotation upon said axis, auger carrier and driving means within said housing means carried adjacent one of its ends in said inner hub member and rotated through the latter by said outer body member, cam means on said housing, a movable cam means on said auger carrier and driving means adapted to cooperate with said first named cam means, resilient means urging said second named cam means into engagement with said iirst cam means thereby causing said auger carrier and driving means normally to rotate on said axis of rotation of said housing and permitting said auger carrier and driving means to rotate on an axis intersecting said rst named axis when bending strain is placed upon an auger carried by said auger carrier and driving means, and bearing means interposed between said last named cam means and said resilient means whereby said cam means may rotate with respect to said auger carrier and driving means.

5. An auger socket mechanism adapted to connect an auger to a power driven drilling apparatus including in combination, means forming a universal joint having an inner hub member, an outer body member adapted to be mounted on and rotated on an axis by said power driven drilling apparatus, and means interconnecting said driving and driven members whereby one is driven from the other, means forming a housing carried by and extending from said outer body member for rotation upon said axis, auger carrier and driving means within said housing means carried adjacent one of its ends in said inner hub member and rotated through the latter by said outer body member, cam means on said housing, a movable cam means on said auger carrier and driving means adapted to cooperate with said rst named cam means, resilient means urging said second named cam means into engagement with said iirst cam means thereby causing said auger carrier and driving means normally to rotate on said axis of rotation of said housing and permitting said auger carrier and driving means to rotate on an axis intersecting said first named axis when bending strain is placed upon an auger carried by said auger carrier and driving means, and a guard sleeve surrounding said housing means.

6. An auger socket mechanism adapted to connect an auger to a power driven drilling apparatus including in combination, means forming a universal joint having an inner hub member and an outer body member adapted to be mounted on and rotated on an axis by said power driven drilling apparatus, housing means carried by and extending from said outer body member for rotation upon said axis, auger carrier and driving means carried by said inner hub member and rotated through the latter by said outer body member, mechanism between said housing means and said auger carrier and driving means normally yieldably causing said auger carrier and driving means to rotate on said axis, and guard sleeve means surrounding said housing means and said auger carrier and driving means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

